


Sleeping Arrangements

by torchwood221b



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 14:04:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3293087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torchwood221b/pseuds/torchwood221b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock and John's hotel room only has one bed and a very uncomfortable chair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleeping Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MyLittleCornerOfSherlock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyLittleCornerOfSherlock/gifts).



> MyLittleCornerOfSherlock asked for "Sharing a bed."

The hotel had “lost” their reservation and the only room they had available had just one bed.

"We’ll take the room," John told the desk clerk handing him his card.

"This is Mycroft’s doing," Sherlock said bitterly as they took the elevator up to the fifth floor, "it’s payback for all those times I called him fat."

"I’m sure your brother has better things to than screw with our hotel reservations," John replied hoping to get Sherlock to see sense.

"He might have better things to do but none would give him as much pleasure as knowing we’ve been forced to share a bed," Sherlock grumbled.

"One of us could always sleep on the floor," John suggested as he inserted the card key and opened the door. "Or in that chair," he added when he saw that in addition to a small desk set up there was a reasonably comfortable looking armchair and ottoman at the far end of the room.

"Excellent idea John," Sherlock replied pleased for the first time since they’d found out about their lost reservation.

Before John could reply Sherlock had dropped his case on the bed effectively claiming it as his for the duration of their stay. John merely shook his head and accepted that he’d be sleeping in the chair until this case was solved.

While Sherlock was in the bathroom changing for bed John tested out his sleeping arrangements. The chair wasn’t nearly as comfortable as it looked when he had first opened the door. It was incredibly rigid, but it’s seat cushion was so worn that John could feel every spring that supported it. The back cushion on the other hand was stiff and unmoving. John would have to steal a pillow off the bed just to buy himself a modicum of comfort so he could sleep. The cots in Afghanistan were more comfortable than that chair and there was no way John was going to be stuck sleeping in it for the foreseeable future.

"This isn’t going to work," John said once Sherlock got out of the bathroom.

"What isn’t going to work?" Sherlock asked puzzled.

"My sleeping in the chair, it’s not going to work," John replied.

"Of course it is it was your idea," Sherlock told him, "plus you’re a soldier I’m sure you’re used to sleeping in all sorts of adverse conditions."

"This chair isn’t adverse conditions it’s cruel and unusual punishment," John grumbled.

"You’re exaggerating," Sherlock replied.

"I’ll make you a deal, if you can spend tonight in that chair, the whole night, you can have the bed for however long we’re here for. If you can’t, we alternate, one night you get the bed, the next night I get the bed," John offered knowing Sherlock wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to have the bed the whole time.

"Fine," Sherlock agreed, "but when I’ve successfully completed my night in the chair you can’t complain about having to sleep there."

"Fine," John replied grabbing his clothes so he could change for bed, there was no way Sherlock could spend a night in that chair.

When the army doctor was done in the bathroom he saw that Sherlock was still trying (and failing) to get comfortable.

"Can I turn the lights out?" John asked settling in.

"Go ahead," Sherlock relented, it was going to take a while for him to find a comfortable position and he could do that in the dark.

"Goodnight Sherlock," John said grinning to himself.

"Goodnight John," Sherlock replied.

Fifteen minutes later Sherlock was still shifting loudly in the chair trying to get comfortable.

"Go to sleep Sherlock," John scolded his flat mate the same way a parent scolds a toddler who doesn’t want to take a nap.

"I can’t sleep," Sherlock replied, "this chair is terrible."

"Well at least be quiet so I can sleep," John told him.

"That wasn’t part of the deal," Sherlock teased shifting loudly in the chair.

"Goodnight Sherlock," John said sternly.

Sherlock waited until John was sound asleep before silently getting out of the chair and stretching out on the unused side of the bed. He’d just gotten comfortable when John rolled over and put his arm around him. Sherlock was certain John would wake up any second and send him back to the torture device masquerading as an armchair where he would get no sleep and probably need to see a chiropractor before starting his investigation. When John didn’t stir he breathed a sigh of relief, moved John’s arm off his chest, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

John woke up to find himself entangled in six feet of sleeping consulting detective and was surprisingly ok with it. He’d imagined that sharing a bed with Sherlock would have been a disastrous experience full of cover hogging and a war for space which would ultimately end with him being relegated to the edge of the bed and rolling off it and onto the floor in the middle of the night. Sherlock of course would have been oblivious to the whole thing and have expected John to go chase criminals like nothing was wrong.

When the army doctor tried to get himself out of bed Sherlock only snuggled tighter. John managed to free his arms and wiggle his way into a sitting position. He grabbed the pillow Sherlock wasn’t using and put it behind his back for support and flipped on the tv, hitting mute and turning down the volume so the noise wouldn’t wake the man presently using his lower half as a body pillow.

Sherlock woke with a start fifteen minutes later to find John grinning down at him.

"You were right ok, nobody could sleep in that awful chair all night," Sherlock admitted.

"Well, sharing the bed seemed to work out fine last night, we could just keep doing that," John offered and Sherlock smiled brightly and kissed him, blushing profusely when he’d realized what he’d done.

John ruffled Sherlock’s hair and kissed him back. Apparently this sharing a bed thing was going to extend far beyond this trip.

—-

That night Sherlock was clearly nervous about sharing the bed. John had spent the day being affectionate, putting his hand on Sherlock’s shoulder, brushing up against him, kissing him on the cheek and just generally being more in Sherlock’s personal space than he’d ever been before and Sherlock wasn’t sure just what that meant.

"Hey," John said squeezing Sherlock’s hand from across the bed, "nothing has to happen unless you want it to."

"Ok," Sherlock nodded and joined John under the covers staying on his side of the bed.

"John," He said sometime after they’d turned out the lights, "can I kiss you goodnight?"

"Yes," John replied nodding, not that Sherlock could see it.

Sherlock shifted his body across his self imposed line of demarcation to John’s side of the bed. He propped himself up with his right elbow, his left hand resting on John’s chest and leaned down to kiss his best friend. The kiss was slow, deliberate and the complete opposite of the impulsive kiss he’d given John that morning. It was almost as if Sherlock was conducting an experiment and John was more than happy to let it continue for as long as Sherlock wanted it to.

"Goodnight John," Sherlock said when he was finished. He placed a chaste kiss on John’s lips before turning away to retreat to his side of the bed.

"Sherlock," John said reaching for the man’s shoulder and instead finding the base of his neck, "stay."

When Sherlock didn’t move one way or the other John took his hand away giving him space to decide. After a minute of deliberation Sherlock turned back and settled against John’s shoulder.

"Is this ok?" Sherlock questioned realizing his head was resting on the shoulder where John had been shot.

"Yeah, you’re fine," John told him.

"Goodnight John," Sherlock said again.

"Goodnight Sherlock," John replied.

"Are you sure this is ok?" Sherlock questioned a few minutes later.

"Yes, it’s fine. Go to sleep," John told him.

"Ok," Sherlock agreed, "goodnight John."

"Goodnight Sherlock," John said again.

—-

An hour later Sherlock was still wide awake at John’s side.

"John, are you awake?" Sherlock asked louder than he meant to.

"I am now," John replied with a hint of annoyance.

"I can’t sleep," Sherlock told him.

"I kinda figured," John said rolling onto his side but making sure to take Sherlock with him.

"I don’t usually sleep when we’re on cases," Sherlock replied.

"What do you usually do?" John asked.

"Play my violin, do experiments, read, think about the case," Sherlock shrugged.

"Have you tried?" John asked.

"My violin isn’t here, my experiments aren’t here, I’ve reviewed everything there is to review about the case and I didn’t pack a book," Sherlock told him.

"There’s two in my duffel bag, just don’t lose my place," John replied.

"I’ll need to turn the light on," Sherlock warned him, "won’t it bother you?"

"I was a soldier, remember? I’m used to sleeping in adverse conditions, so long as they’re not that chair," John joked turning on the light.

Sherlock got out of bed and picked one of the books out of John’s duffel bag and got back into bed.

"Goodnight Sherlock," John said rolling over so his back was to the light.

"Goodnight John," Sherlock replied.

It took approximately two and a half hours for John to migrate from his side of the bed to Sherlock’s. Sherlock hadn’t noticed at first, having been wrapped up in John’s surprisingly interesting book, but by the time John had moved enough so that they were touching he found himself looking at John more than the book. When John’s head started using Sherlock’s lap as a pillow the consulting detective used the book cover to mark his place and reached over to switch off the light. John grumbled a bit as Sherlock shifted in the bed so he could lay down but didn’t wake up. He liked the idea that John wanted to curl up with him while he slept as much as he wanted to curl up with John.

Sometime during the night they switched positions because when they woke John was sleeping on his back and Sherlock was wrapped around him much as he had been the morning before. John was happy to see that Sherlock’s inability to fall asleep wasn’t because he regretted his decision to stay on John’s side of the bed.

"How was the book?" John asked stretching.

"Interesting," Sherlock replied, "I read until I was tired."

"How long was that?" John inquired curious.

"Until you started to use me as a pillow," Sherlock said amused.

"You must not have been a very good pillow, considering," John teased.

"Maybe you’re just a better one," Sherlock teased back.

It took another two days for them to solve the case and head back to Baker Street. They arrived just before midnight, bone tired and wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep until noon. When they reached the top of the stairs John naturally headed towards his own room.

"John," Sherlock said grabbing his hand, "stay," and John did.


End file.
